


Breathe

by fluffy_subtext



Category: Avengers (Comic), Marvel (Movies), Marvel 616, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, mixing up universes for my own means
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-28
Updated: 2012-04-28
Packaged: 2017-11-04 11:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/393106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffy_subtext/pseuds/fluffy_subtext
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The press get a hold of the video the 10 rings made when Tony was in captivity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> This was based off of a prompt I saw forever ago and now I don't even remember where. Haha so ... sorry about that but it was fun to write.

XXX

Tony groaned against his pillows. It was too early for whatever was happening in he world to cause his phone to keep ringing. His work phone, his personal phone and now even Jarvis was making the small beep announcing that people were trying to contact his home phone.

The Avengers card had yet to make a peep so this must be work related or some god awful rumor the press was eating up again. Hey maybe he had another “love child” at least until proven otherwise … again.

“Time?” He let out another groan untangling himself from the sheets and wincing as some of the bruises from their last battle with A.I.M. 

“8 AM sir, you have three missed calls from Mrs. Potts and various other press.” Tony stretched popping his neck.

“Don’t tell me anything until after I’ve had my coffee.” He growled, he had only gotten a couple hours of sleep. Whatever it was, it could wait.

Of course the crashing sound downstairs was a bit ominous.

Tony quickly made his way toward the noise and passed the kitchen. No one was there, it looked like people had been eating, half eaten plates laid about but no one was there. Tony was positive his Avengers card hadn’t gone off. He blinked before heading over to where he heard voices. It took him a second to realize it wasn’t any of the Avengers talking before he made it to the entertainment room. 

He blinked groggily at the group of people staring at the t.v. There was a broken coffee cup on the floor with steam coming out of it. It was at Jan’s feet as she stared forward with her hands covering her mouth. Tony blinked, everyone seemed tense.

He glanced over at the news broadcaster. They were playing a pixelated video of a hostage surrounded by men with guns. The hostage had a bag over his head and the men were speaking in Arabic? Tony was never good with telling the difference. He licked his lips as they suddenly felt dry. For some reason he couldn’t bring himself to read the translation on the bottom of the screen or any of the news captains going around the screen. But the name “Tony Stark” ringing in his ears as it was spoken in the thick accent.

“Oh right.” He watched as his face was revealed before another video started going. He looked back at the group of people in the room who were now all staring at him with a good mix of shock or worse, pity. Tony shrugged before heading toward the kitchen.

He really needed that coffee.

He should have known it was going to come back to haunt him eventually. Actually now that it had he was surprised that it hadn’t happened sooner. This was the information age. It was less about secrets and more about the next big thing. The next drama, who was sleeping with who, divorces, wasted money and fake politics.

Maybe he had hoped that it being over two years ago that it would be swept under the buffer, after all who wants to report history? There must not have been enough going on in the world. Tony didn’t bother looking up as he heard others walk into the kitchen. 

“Jarvis delete all messages and ignore any calls from the press.” He paused. “Ignore all calls.”

“Very well.” The robot responded and Tony hummed into his cup of coffee.

“Tony …” It was Jan behind him and he was proud that he didn’t flinch at her tone. He turned to glare at her and everyone else who had followed. Steve, Hank and Clint were in the background.

“What?” He asked as if some of his dirty laundry hadn’t just been aired on national television.

Again.

“Why didn’t you tel-” He raised a hand cutting her off.

“Over two years ago.” He reminded her, trying to sound as if this was boring and not bothering him at all. “Everyone already knows what happened. Just because someone found videos doesn’t make it any different. Now if there’s something important on the news like say, Loki attacking or clothes vanishing off of sexy women on the streets, call me. I’ll be downstairs.”

“Tony I ju-”

“No.” He pointed at her. “Whatever you just, just no. Actually, how about you only call me if there are naked sexy women on the streets.” He turned around ignoring her huff of frustration and tuning out everything else as he made his way to his sanctuary. He had finished fixing the glitch in the gauntlets last night but maybe he could go ahead and start working on the next upgrade.

After all, technology waits for no one.

“Dammit”

Tony ran a hand through his hair. His heart seemed to be pumping harder than necessary and the arc reactor was humming loudly so it vibrated in his ears. He cursed a few more times inside his lab. He had spent so much time trying to prove he wasn’t the weak link of the Avengers, that he could hold his weight. 

His kidnapping was old news but seeing those videos might put things in more perspective than Tony wanted anyone else thinking about. After all if that had never happened he would never have become Iron Man. But all this was going to do was remind all the superhumans and god upstairs that he was just a normal guy. He didn’t have the training of Clint or Natasha, actually he was pretty sure Natasha was a mutant but he couldn’t prove it.

He sighed going over to his suit. He was going to have to start all over to prove to them he could hold his own, that he deserved to be a part of this team as much as the rest of them.

Hopefully Loki would attack and everyone could forget about those videos, Tony frowned, how had those feeds gotten to the public eye to begin with?

XXX

Tony’s honestly surprised it took the team as long as it did before they sent down a sacrifice. Of course they didn’t play fair and sent down Steve. Tony pretended he didn’t notice the blonde enter the room as he worked on the chest piece of his iron man suit. Steve was obviously uncomfortable but his face was set to a determined expression that let Tony know he wanted to probably talk about feelings.

Or Steve broke another computer, the expressions were slightly similar.

“So … that was when you were kidnapped?” 

Tony smirked staring at his red metal suit in front of him. Obviously those videos had been from when he was kidnapped, Steve was approaching this subject like it was something delicate, like it hadn’t been a couple of years. Like maybe he thought Tony was going to snap or start crying any moment. The older man (by years experienced at least) sighed and turned around.

“70 years.” Tony crossed his arms glaring at Steve who looked slightly confused but always innocent. Hell if he hadn’t fought with the blonde in battle then Tony might actually feel guilty for letting something so doe-eyed live and walk freely around in his house.

“What?” Steve frowned at him.

“70 years. You were held up for 70 years.” Tony pointed the screwdriver in his hand at the taller man. Steve stared at him dumbly for a moment.

“Tony I was frozen in ice.”

“Captured.” Tony tried not to smile at Steve’s expression. “I only had to wait three months, you were captured for 70 years.”

“Thats not the same.” Steve sounded frustrated. “They had guns and-”

“Killer whales frequent the area you were in.” Tony cut him off. “Or is it seals, I’m sure you looked like a delicious popsicle from time to time.”

“Tony.” Steve pursed his lips into a thin line.

“If anyone went through a traumatic experience it was you waking up 70 years in the future, or hell Bruce Banner’s whole life is pretty traumatic, I’m sure being in love with Jan is a pretty traumatic experience for Hank. I think Jan missed a sale at Macy’s or something once …”

“Now you’re being ridiculous.” Steve huffs impatiently crossing his arms.

“No, I’m not.” Tony crosses his in retaliation. Maybe he is but hopefully he’ll get his point across. “It was a few years ago. Its over. Its done.”

“That’s when you became Iron Man, right?” Steve asks like he hasn’t heard the story a million times. “And you made the arc reactor?”

“You are correct sir.” Tony taps the glowing piece in his chest. “Saved by a good man, a bit of torture here and there, built my first suit, watched Yinsen die and I made it out. I don’t know what the big deal is with these videos and I swear if you guys start treating me like some normal guy in a suit-”

“You are just a normal guy in a suit.” Steve throws in quickly. 

“Fine, but I am a guy WITH a suit. I’m not a fragile piece of glass, I’m not going to start crying if I see a cheap camera recording me, I’m not going to stop doing what I do just because you guys don’t think I can do it. So-”

“Tony no one thinks you can’t do it. We’re just worried.” Steve interrupts. “This isn’t going to change anything, as you say it was 2 years ago.” He smiles.

That halts Tony. Steve seems to do that a lot. “Oh, it just … some of the looks I saw upstairs.” He licks his lips. “I hate pity.”

“You’re going to have to get over it.” Steve shrugs. “This is out now and maybe if you prove to them you don’t need to be pitied then they won’t. I read the file of what happened to you, so did Natasha and Clint. But Bruce, Hank and Jan never got the gory details.”

It made sense. “You don’t pity me?”

“I wish it had never happened to you.” Steve admits quickly before looking at the floor and blushing. “But - then you never would have been Iron Man and maybe we would have never met. So I might be a bit selfish is saying that I’m glad it happened because you being here, helped me out.”

Tony blinks at the large blonde, he can feel blood rushing to his face and for once it isn’t because of anything he’s drinking. “You always ruin my sulks.”

“I’m sorry.” Steve laughed. “But it’s true, we wouldn’t be the Avengers without you … they know it upstairs. I know it.”

“You just like the shiny new toys.” Tony smiled.

“They are shiny.” Steve nods before pausing.

“Aren’t you supposed to be trying to get me upstairs?” Tony scoffs amused. The blond sighs scratching the back of his neck.

“No I think everyone’s tired after finding the kid that leaked the video.” Steve shrugs, “Between JARVIS, Ms. Potts and Hank we were able to get him pretty fast. Just a college kid who had been messing with some coding and well, you should be expecting a written apology from him when Jan’s done talking to him.”

Tony stared wide-eyed at Steve. “You guys tracked down the person who leaked the footage, who was a kid. I’m surprised you’re not in uniform giving him a stern talking to.”

Steve smiled sheepishly and ducked his head.

“You did not.” Tony groaned. “I missed you abusing your power of America to scare some kid out of hacking for life?”

“And his roommates.” Steve was still smiling looking at the floor.

“Of course and his computer hacking roommates.” Tony put his hands on his hips and made sure he was fully facing the other man. “How did Fury feel about this? I’m sure its abuse of Avenger status.”

“He supported it.” Steve smiled. “You’re part of our team Tony. No one’s allowed to hurt you anymore.”

Tony just nodded because his throat suddenly felt tight. He blinked and went back to tinkering with his tools. Steve smiled and nudged Tony’s shoulder with his own.

“Well if you thought I was intimidating you should have seen what Agent Coulson did …”

Tony laughed as Steve told him about the Avengers handling a bunch of stupid kids. Part of him was still trying to wrap around the fact that the world now has access to the footage, the other part of him was trying to figure out how to feel about his team.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard.

After all he wasn’t on his own anymore.


End file.
